Faultline
by LadyLiv
Summary: Approximately 20 years after the events of the books, the Volturi are gone and humanity is aware of the existence of vampires. Humans use cybernetic implants and augmentations to fight the vampires on every front, constantly hunting them to the brink of extinction. A cyberpunk story.
1. Prologue

Faultline

**Prologue**

We're never fast enough. Not anymore. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the days when the Volturi ruled. They may have been a bunch of pompous, old dicks, but they really did maintain order in a world with supernaturals. Since they disappeared twenty years ago, there's no one to control the newborns. Nothing to keep the chaos of primal hunger at bay. But most importantly, there's no one to keep us, all of us, safe. From the humans.

You could have told me, or any other vampire, this story thirty years ago and we would never have believed you. In fact, you'd be killed by most for even suggesting such an idea. The idea that one day, the humans would _hunt us_. And yet, here we are, the third decade of the twenty-first century, and we run for our lives. Every day is a struggle for survival. We stick together in small groups, keeping a low profile, moving at night only, avoiding busy cities. For many of us, it's not enough.

Last year we lost most of the original coven. Alice saw it coming, but didn't know when it would happen. She went crazy a few days before Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett and Esme were all killed in the ambush. Carlisle was taken. I can still see his eyes, enflamed with rage and desperation as Esme's body exploded into a million fragments. I still see the soldiers, with their unnatural augmentations, dragging him screaming and wailing into the darkness to be carted away to some research lab like an animal. But then again, we are the animals.

Now that the humans have merged with their technology, they are less human than even we. They have cybernetic implants to help them fight us. With us vampires as their enemy, they are united. They are strong. They are evil, and I will make them pay for what they've done. Somehow, they will answer for their crimes against my family.

My name is Edward Cullen, and I am one of the hunted. With me is my sister Alice, my eternal love Isabella, our daughter Renesmee and Jacob, the Wolf. He is the last of his kind. I feel great pain for him. He loves Nessie more than words could describe, and I know he will protect her to his dying breath. Without Jacob, we would all likely be dead, too. It's true, I owe my life to a dog.

You might think things are bad for us, and you wouldn't be wrong. But just like anything, it's not all bad. We still laugh and love. No single group of people could ever love each other more than we do. With the world going to hell around us, we still have hope. We don't want to end humanity, just make peace. I want those who killed my family to burn, but humanity as a whole is just as it's always been. It moves along. As always, the vast majority of any people are not a part of the worst of their kind. And I am a proud vampire. For that reason, I will not mindlessly murder innocents. If the humans could understand that we only want to live here on Earth, just as they do, free to choose our own destinies, peace would perhaps come. Until then, I will fight for the survival of my family and my kind.

"What are you doing?"

The voice jolted me from my concentration.

"Nothing, Bella. Just… typing," I answered timidly.

"Edward, we don't have time for this. I told you to lose that typewriter a month ago, and what do I find? You crouched in this corner typing your stupid poetry or whatever."

"Bella, we may be the last vampires to ever exist. We may be the last natural people to ever live, as strange as it sounds. I am writing so that the future will know what really happened. So that people years from now will understand that we weren't the monsters they portrayed us to be. History is written by the victors, but in this case I will beat them to the punch if I can."

"You're hopeless, Edward. Who's to say we're going to lose?"

"Nobody, but be realistic, Bella. Our future is bleak. Anyone who suggests otherwise is a misguided fool."

"Are you saying our daughter is a fool?" She narrowed her eyes at me. I could feel the anger burning in her flesh.

"Of course not. There's a difference between optimism and blind hope."

I stared down at my fingers. They were dirty and cracked. I typed one last word and the typewriter dinged and went back to the start of the page. I pulled the paper from the machine and folded it into my pocket. I turned to find Bella standing only a few inches from me. The tears in her eyes spoke to my unbeating heart. We embraced.

"Tell me it's going to be okay," she wept into my shoulder. "You know I can't take this much longer. Life isn't meant to be this way."

Her words faded into incomprehensible sobs. I squeezed her, staring at the wall beyond us. Two tears slowly traveled the length of my cold, stone face. I knew she needed comforting. We all did. With a deep breath to hide my own desire to weep, I spoke.

"We will survive, Isabella Cullen. It's what we do. We are a strong people. More importantly, our love will keep us together through these tribulations. If we lose love, we might as well give up now. You know that's not going to happen."

Her cries softened into a sniffle. She wiped her nose on my shirt and looked up at me.

"I do love you, Edward. You promised me that we would live forever. If you break that promise, I'll kill you myself."

I smiled. She knew how to make light of a dark situation. For that, I was grateful.

"Time to move," Jacob said from the doorway.

"We're on our way," I replied. Jacob gave me a look that questioned what was going on. I simply gave him a reassuring smile that everything was okay. He turned and walked down the stairs.

"Let's go Bella. Alice said there are Hunters in this area tonight. We have to get clear of this town as soon as possible."

She glanced over at the typewriter.

"Are you really bringing that beastly thing with us?"

I sighed. "Tell me right now to leave it here. Tell me to throw it away and I will. Hell, tell me to smash it to pieces and I'll crush it right here with my bare hands, as much as I don't want to."

"Fine, fine! Bring your stupid typewriter. Just do me a favor and finish your history book before we all die."

"No promises," I said with a grin.

With that, I lifted the machine off the table and stuffed it into my military grade duffle bag. Time again, to run.

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**Author's Notes: **First submission. I want to have the future entries beta read. So anyway, what do you think? Please review (: Thanks

Update expected every Saturday.


	2. Chapter 1

Faultline

**Chapter 1**

_We're never fast enough…_

The sun was just rising when another town appeared on the horizon. We were walking now, along a field just outside of a thick forest. The Wolf was panting heavily, having run all night with no sleep, carrying my daughter the entire time.

"Jacob," I said concerned.

His eyes darted toward me, still vigilant in his exhaustion.

"We're almost there. Alice says there are friendlies in this town. They'll be expecting us."

He growled his acknowledgement and turned his head toward Renesmee. He nudged her gently with his nose. She awoke. They shared a brief exchange of looks and she climbed down. Within seconds the Wolf was a man again. Renesmee handed her naked lover some clothes which he stopped to put on. The rest of us walked ahead.

"How do you think they're tracking us?" Bella asked suddenly. "Some kind of tech?"

"Many of these guys were excellent trackers before, even for humans. With their implants they can see in total darkness and even see things so small that we cannot. Their useless sense of smell is accommodated by their augmentations."

My answer didn't satisfy her. "You don't think that…" she paused, unwilling to continue her thought.

"That what?"

"That they have vampires helping them, do you?"

"Bella, what vampire would help the humans? We may not all get along, but nobody would sell out their own kind in the threat of extinction."

"But what if the humans promised them an endless supply of live blood or something? There are horrible creatures on both sides of this war, Edward. You know that."

I began to doubt my own notion, but quickly dismissed it. "I really don't think that's the case. Besides, if a vampire were helping them we'd probably have been…"

Suddenly Alice's voice was in my head. It was the only way she talked anymore. Somehow she had learned to tune into my own ability and make me involuntarily read her mind.

_[There's trouble ahead. The friendlies I saw, they are dead. Hunters are in this town.]_

"What is it?" Bella asked. "Edward, what were you saying?"

"Alice says our safe passage is no longer an option here. Our friendlies have been killed by Hunters."

A panicked look struck Bella's face. "What do we do? Can we fight them?"

"I don't know. We may have to. Alice hasn't said anything else. Just that there are Hunters here, now."

"We can't turn around," Jacob said from behind me. "I think our best option is to rush these fuckers before they know we're here. They might be expecting reinforcements from the other team behind to trap us in an ambush."

"Unfortunately, you're probably right, Jacob. Renesmee, you take Alice somewhere safe in the woods, we'll come find you when it's over. If we don't return in one hour, the two of you run. Got it?"

Renesmee gave me a look of instant protest. I knew she wouldn't like the idea of not fighting, but somebody had to protect Alice. She was in no condition to fight.

_[I can take care of myself, Brother. You take Renesmee. I will be safe.]_

"Are you sure?" I asked aloud.

_[I promise. You will need Renesmee to fight the Hunters. There are at least two dozen.]_

I sighed. "Alice said she will be safe. Nessie, you're with us. We're sticking with the same plan, though. One hour, Alice. Run if we aren't back."

We took turns hugging Alice and then she ran into the thick trees of the forest and disappeared. Jacob grabbed Renesmee's hand and Bella took mine. We stared at each other for a moment and faced the town ahead.

"Alice showed me where they are. They won't be hard to find. Let's go."

Together we ran like lightning toward the town. My eyes scanned as far ahead as they could, searching for any sign of trouble. Suddenly I saw the Wolf beside me, running with the newfound energy of an impending battle. Adrenaline does amazing things for the living. His mind told me he was ready to devour our enemies. Hunger does amazing things for the living and nonliving alike.

My eyes returned to the town, which was now much closer and very visible. I saw what looked like a firework being shot from a grassy area just outside of the town about 500 yards away.

"Bella! Shield! Now!"

"I see it!" she yelled back.

Immediately a forcefield went up around us as we ran. A mortar round exploded above us, having impacted the shield. A few more followed but they overshot us. We were now close enough to engage.

"Contact!" I heard a man yell. They were _almost_ ready for us. But not quite.

With furious speed, I tore into the body of a Hunter and ripped him in half, throwing his pieces toward his companions. By now, rifle fire was all around us. We moved too quickly for them to make a hit easily. Jacob was the largest and easiest target, but he was also the most destructive. He was tearing into their ranks like they were made of plastic, throwing bodies in every direction. Several dead Hunters littered the ground with their throats torn out.

"Regroup!" one of them called.

They attempted to retreat back into the town. I didn't want this to become an urban battle.

"Bella, take out those vehicles!" I called.

She finished smashing a Hunter's head into pulp and leapt toward their armored jeeps, which their remaining soldiers were trying to pile into for their retreat. With a few blows, she had disabled the engine of one and moved to the next one. I knew her forcefield would protect her from gunfire while she destroyed the rest.

Suddenly there was a loud yelp. The Wolf had been hit. I looked to find him limping from a group of corpses. He gave me a look that assured me he was fine. He would have to be. There was no time to let these bastards get away or change the battlefield.

A lone man caught my attention. He was standing quite calmly between me and the vehicles which Bella was finishing off. I immediately knew he was different from the rest. The worst Hunters are the ones who go full-cyborg. They aren't content to accept a simple vision upgrade or strength enhancement. Some of them get full body swaps. Titanium skeletons, brain augmentations so fast that their perception of time is a 10th of what a normal person's would be, enough strength to lift a building. And guns out the wahzoo. I wasn't sure what this guy was packing, but I knew it wouldn't be pretty. And I knew I couldn't take him alone.

Renesmee caught sight of him. She knew, too. We traded glances and prepared to engage him together.

"WAIT," he said before I could move. For some reason, I listened. We all did. "Before this gets any uglier, I have something that might interest you, demon," he said, looking straight at me.

"What could you possibly have to offer me?"

"You're the Cullens, are you not?" he said with a sarcastic air in his voice. I simply glared at him. "I know where your father is. What was his name… Carlisle?"

"You're lying," I said, unsure of my own accusation.

"Am I? We've been tracking you for months. And I'll admit, I can't beat all of you right now," he looked back as Bella circled around him, having killed the rest of the Hunters. "I can tell you where Carlisle is, or we can fight and I'll be sure to take at least two of you down with me. Now, what'll it be… Edward?"

The sound of my name from his lips sent chills down my already frozen spine. I loathed the idea of letting him walk away. But unfortunately, he was right. A fight would see us victorious, but at what cost? We couldn't afford to lose anyone, and Jacob was already injured.

"Tell me where he is."

The Hunter laughed. "It's not that easy. You let me walk away, and I'll leave just enough clues for you to figure it out for yourselves."

"No way, you bastard. I'm not going to let you just walk away like that. Tell me what I want to know, or we'll destroy you right where you stand."

"You think so? Okay, I can see you're not going to play nicely. I'll tell you what. I'll give you the name of someone who knows where your father is, and you let me leave. But don't think she's going to give up the information any more easily that I would. Hurry up now, time is ticking, creature."

He was right. The other Hunter team was probably already on its way. I had to take the offer.

"How do I find my father?"

"There's a geneticist named Emma Grayson. She worked in a research lab that was studying your kind since before the war started. She knows where Carlisle is."

Jacob moved closer to me without ever taking his eyes off the Hunter. He was growling with hatred.

"Where is Emma Grayson?" I asked.

The Hunter smiled wickedly. "I don't know. I only said I'd give you her name. It's up to you to find her. You can track a prey now, can't you vampire?"

"Edward," Bella spoke. "We need to go."

I ran toward the Hunter in a flash, and stopped just in front of his face. He had no breath. No pulse. No life. He was as unliving and as cold as me.

"If I ever see you again, hunter… I'll end you."

A twitch of fear crossed his artificial face. "Here's hoping we meet again, Edward Cullen." He laughed. "Be seeing you all."

He jumped high into the air and flipped backwards toward the little town. Bella approached me and grabbed my hand.

"We need to get out of here," she said.

"Jacob is hurt," I replied.

"I'm fine," he said, pulling a pair of his pants up. "Just a bullet in my thigh. It will heal."

Renesmee helped him walk as we all headed back to the forest. We had to find Alice and get on the move again. Had to find this Emma Grayson woman. Hopefully she would help us get to Carlisle. If he really was alive. He would be able to help us end the war. I don't know how, but something told me we needed him.

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**Author's Notes: **If anyone wants to Beta future chapters, send me a PM.

Update expected every Saturday.


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